May 5, 2010

Arne opened the meeting with a welcome to all followed by updates and announcements.

Updates and Announcements:

Arne showed a PowerPoint recapping and depicting several events held and/or sponsored by the Library (or the FOSL) during the FY09-10.

What is currently going on at Steely?

Archives - we are in the process of installing compact shelving in anticipation of a large collection. At the end of May (thru August?) room SL102 will be used to temporarily shelve materials from the Archives while the new flooring and shelving is installed.

The Bachelor of Library Informatics (a fully-online) program is doing very well. We are in our second semester and anticipate 50 enrolled for Fall. It is drawing a much larger audience than we first thought. Librarians generally start out in other areas and then become librarians but if we can target interest from high school forward, we can attract more qualified individuals to the profession and they will be better equipped and prepared to be more effective librarians. The program is practitioner taught program, with courses taught by Steely faculty/librarians.

IMLS Grant Program ( NKU, Bluegrass and KDLA) - There are now 50 recipients of scholars and stipends, as well as 12 receiving scholarships only. These students are located throughout state with most students currently attending Bluegrass. KYlibrarians.org, an integrated website for all library education in Kentucky, a statewide mentoring program, and a series of continuing colloquia are also now in operation. We held our first Advisory Board Meeting and received very positive feedback from members of the board.

Budget Issues - The bad news, the Library will receive a $39,000 cut this year. We have restructured our serials and now purchase much of the collection in packages rather than as separate titles. This has worked to our advantage by allowing us to provide much more content even with ongoing cuts, however, we will lose titles in groups rather than singly if we have to cut deeply over time. Serials inflation continues to be a problem and we did not receive coverage this year. Fortunately, we did recoup funds from EOY this year that we will carry forward to address next year’s shortfall. The upside is that we preserve serials; the downside is that we continue to de-emphasize books. Lois Schultz reported that we we recouped $6,000 on Dec. 15th and we’re going to have almost $10,000 with the second cut-off. Nine departments did not use all their funds. If their remaining balance was $150 or less, we counted it as all spent. Vendors are wanting to make “deals”... buy one, get two, etc. but we have been very conservative ordering new items. Reference cancelled some titles and moved some things to full text.

Lois Schultz:

Showed PowerPoint of stats on journal packages which indicated a large usage, in addition, Lois noted what was saved on SourceFinder costs.

Update on Budget Formula - The group met and decided to leave the current formula in place for 1 more year to gain more stats on how it is working - still have the 30% cap. Per Arne, allocations will be very similar to last year.

We are considering placing additional funds into SourceFinder to grow that method of providing content to our users and to build the collection.

New Business:

Katherine Kurk initiated conversation re: the LRC (how it is now vs. when it was in BEP). Since it was relocated to the library, it seems to be getting much less use. Our LRC is one of the nicest in the state, with a fantastic collection, but Katherine feels that it may not being used enough due to the lack of a “production room”. Arne indicted that he had talked with Jenny Smith about it in the past but that we have had space issues in this building. However, there may be some space coming available. Arne also stated that the auditors made us put the lamination equipment behind the circulation desk. All agreed that we are missing out on a big opportunity where teachers/students/grads can learn from one another. Arne said that a room has been planned (when the budget permits) that is glass enclosed, etc. and will be VERY nice. Researching opportunities for private funding.

Arne asked for feedback re: the group, in general, its purpose/usefulness, the # of meetings, etc. Everyone agreed the group served a useful purpose and that quarterly meetings were sufficient, with email/correspondence notifying of any immediate issues.

KC Russell asked about the status of the RFID tags - Arne announced it was going well but we would need additional money in order to continue. This was included in this year’s requests for funding. We hope to be able to complete this project within the next 2 years. Once everything is switched to RFID, we can purchase a new security system to replace the old equipment. All new books are being tagged.

Vicki Culbreth-Berling asked what technology was available for remote students and how was it working? Arne indicated we currently have instant and text-messaging and online chat. The next great shift toward the virtual library is in services. As serials have gradually moved from majority print to majority access online, we should see the same happen with services. We have been focusing on Info Literacy. We now have many online tutorials, for example. Any stats on usage? Are students catching up with technology? Yes and no. We have embedded librarians (approx. 86 courses) which has been very successful and we are working with instructors to help relay research skills. Non-library students are enrolling in the BLI program just to acquire research/resourcing skills to apply to all their classes.

Tom Heard asked, “What are the librarians’ opinions of E-Content”? Arne said we have added more equipment (i.e. printers, scanner, imaging, audio, etc.) and that the general feedback is “good”.